10 weeks is hardly a trend when it comes to stocks. Feb 1, 2011 was the first time it hit 12K since early June 2008. With the world market as it is right now, it's a bit scary. Still, I just put $5,000 into a Franklin Templeton Global Discovery Fund. If the US market takes a dump, maybe the rest of the world's big 5 economies will carry me through the bad bumps. Japan isn't a major contributor (yay!) but neither is China (boo).
Note to self: Move some funds to a bond fund so I don't have all my eggs in one basket.
As for gas prices, don't expect to see prices under $3.00 any time soon (or ever). We (as a nation) have grown accustomed to paying $3.25/gal and have accepted this as a norm. Just like we accepted $2.39 back in 2008 when gas shot up to over $4.00/gal, then dipped to just under $2.00/gal. We welcomed $2.39/gal for fear that it would rise back up to $4.00/gal. Then in 2009, we again accepted $2.79/gal as the norm. In 2010, our pain threshold went up to $3.29/gal. Now, in 2011, I would give my left nut for prices to stagnate at $3.29/gal but it will balance out at $3.49/gal. Hell, by 2012 we've tolerated the weekly raping at the pumps, that we'll be tickled pink if gas prices are under $4.25!
Credit: seekingalpha.com/
Unless Obama allows for oil drilling in the Gulf again and the demand for gas stabilizes, the prices will continue to go up.
In a strange way, Economists think the increasing fuel prices is driving our economic growth! We can't get away from crude oil. We won't take mass transportation because we like our independence. We like alone in a 7-passenger Ford Excursion. We giggle at hybrids and electric vehicles because when you average out the inflated price of these cars and compared it to the cost of gas, it's a break even in 6 years, and the car goes to sh!t because the batteries now have to be replaced at a cost of $10,000. We don't have the cash to burn because we need gas money, but we all run out to get the new Iphone4, Ipad Gen2, or the HTC phone that's running Android 2.2 with Flash support. Truckers get screwed because they're paying more for diesel (which is a byproduct of gasoline, so it should be cheaper) so they in turn screw the manufacturers and distributors by passing the cost to them. We as consumers get screwed because we pay a fuel surcharge for just about everything, but we still buy stuff. We need stuff. We need food on the table, 54" LCD TVs in our living rooms, and 35's and 37's on the rims of our 13mpg gas guzzling 4X4s that weigh 900lbs more than when it left the showroom because of the new front/rear bumpers with tire carrier, armor protection, skid guards, reinforced roll cage, winch, and big-ass tires.
So, pat yourselves in the back, folks! You're saving our economy by bending over and taking it up the ass at the pumps! God bless America and those stupid mofo Economists.
Credit: runawayjuno.com